Eidolon (Chapter 16)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The alarming statement woke him up fully, just in time to hear the rumble of reaction thrusters pass overhead, but no, the 'her' in question was the formerly docile and apparently very pregnant donkey he'd found River curled up with. (Secrets)
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 4534 RATING: 9.0 (PG13) SERIES: FIREFLY
Dust and sand. She blinked and there was grit in her eyes, she ate and there was more Ezra soil in the bowel blistering local cuisine than there was Ezra culture. Pvt. Haverson couldn't imagine why anyone would live in the capital city, let alone build there; despite being feed by a major river, canals everywhere, they were still in the middle of a shài hàn zào desert wasteland.
Josie was just glad it wasn't hot yet. The temperature around here was dòng yáo ; if it didn't feel like a blast furnace, it was freezing, and the difference between day and night was more than merely aesthetic. Morning was the only respite between the two extremes, and didn't last near long enough.
Sometimes she thought she'd really like to punch out the genius who'd decided on black and purple for their standard issue tactical armour suits. Or, heck, whoever was managing the shift schedule around here; they'd been trained by the best, but three days without sleep was pushing it and sometimes she had this nagging feeling like she was forgetting something important, and couldn't bring herself to care. At least the electronics in her helmet were helping keep her alert, otherwise she'd probably be konked out right here and heading for disciplinary action.
She leaned back against the sandbag barricade, Iskellian-15 at rest against her shoulder. Another farmer passed between her and her partner on guard duty, leading what was probably a pack animal under the baggage but looked like two enormous bundles with four legs. "How many donkeys do these people have?" Mick asked, and Josie had to agree. Smelled like there was already more than enough manure in this beige hovel hellhole.
A line of grungy and foul-smelling misery had already formed hours before, promising only to get worse as the morning warmed and tempers heated. Just a few more hours, Josie told herself. One of the aristocrats in the area was putting on some big evening affair for the troops
Sometimes relationship tangles can be a scary place for a story to go, especially since everyone has their opinion on which characters should be together and who shouldn't.
I'm pretty nice to everyone involved in this one. And it leads to some nice character development!
The delivery of the baby donkey was funny--Simon with his "breech birth" speech was just a riot. And a great set-up for Jayne's "jackass" comment.
So Mal and Inara are packed in together for the duration of the journey and they don't even talk?! (*prods Mal and Inara* Idiots! What are you waiting for?) On the other hand, Mal seems to make a better impression on Inara when he _doesn't_ open his mouth, so maybe it's all to the good.
Interesting backstory for Inara--will we find out more? I like the idea of there being a unicorn stick-figure drawn under the helm controls.
I think my favorite line, however, is: "he was probably in violation of a customs restriction on ego." Had me LOL.
I've had people really not like this plot twist, and I honestly wouldn't have done it if it doesn't lead to an important idea I have about Mal and Inara. One that most people are positively surprised about, because as it turns out Mal is a full grown and somewhat mature male. He just has a tendency to create his own complications and then stick to his guns.
You noticed! I think you're the first person to notice the donkey is named Simon joke. :D there's lots of little things stuck here and there in this story like that. Like Easter Eggs.
Aw, but they had a sleep cute. They may be fighting, but they still trust each other enough to nap on each other.
Eventually we do see a bit more of Inara's backstory, I haven't gotten there yet but I have thought we might meet aunt Vihara - High Priestess of House Madrassa. But there's probably a lot you can already guess from just this much. Feel free to spec.
I like Josie and Mick, they're almost the gender reversal and faction counterparts of Mal and Zoe, only Josie is less bitter than Mal and Mick is more laid back than stoic. I like to think that a trigger happy girl soldier in a later chapter is Josie, and I might put them both in by name later on.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Jossed
"You can't take the sky from me!"
Kaylee and Simon...I think it’s more likely Kaylee will undo any future her and Simon have together, she's young, cute, comfortable with men, and flirty, open about multiple sexual partners, same gender…do I sound jealous?
Out of Gas has Mal say that he's had other possible renters looking at the shuttle, suggesting that the idea to rent the shuttle was his. But under the circumstances - Mal in business negotiation with Inara over the possibility of renting the shuttle and trying to get the best price he can for it - we can't necessarily know what lead to Inara looking at the shuttle, or if it was really Mal's plan (seems risky when they're running illegal cargo so much).
In STTO it was Kaylee's idea, trying to set up her lonely and ornery Captain on a long term blind date. Maybe. The possibility also exists that it was Inara's idea and she approached Kaylee, very similar to the version in my story.
http://www.fireflyfans.net/bluesun.aspx?bid=22300
It's sadly true about Kaylee, she's a very nice person and good natured, but she's also a little thin-skinned, sometimes jealous, and at times a little fickle-hearted, like dropping Simon and pursuing Tracey in The Message. But Simon can also sometimes be just a bit of a cold fish, and not overly expressive with anyone but his sister.
I agree, there is a chance of Inara and Simon having met before, after all, what is considered "The Core" is probaply not all that big and "it's a small verse after all" (And I remember Inara holding Simon's hand in OOG)
That Pvt. sharing my name, shiny. :D
I loike 'er.
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